An Evening in Haven
by Peter Syntie
Summary: Takes place after volume 5 finale. Weiss just wanted to express her gratitude and Ruby just had bad timing. It all works out in the end, so enjoy!


**DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the world of "RWBY", which is owned by Rooster Teeth. All the characters in this story are created and owned by Rooster Teeth and I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Remnant. I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story. Please support the official release.**

Aura amplification, that was his semblance. He was aware of his shortcomings when it came to combat but with this, he could help people. Even if it did come at the cost of his own aura reserves.

He smiled, "Ruby did always say that a huntsman has to put others' needs before their own."

They had just pulled a victory from under the villains' noses and had secured themselves the relic of knowledge.

He sighed, but one battle doesn't win the war. Tomorrow they'll be leaving for Atlas but today they can still celebrate.

He continued down the hall of Haven's dormitory and ran into Weiss. He'd given the recently reunited team RWBY some space. After all, they had some catching up to do. This was the first he'd seen of any of them since the battle.

He noticed her flinch when their eyes first met. It struck him as somewhat odd. Did he surprise her, was she nervous?

"Hey," gretted the heiress and broke eye contact. A blush spread across her pale cheeks.

"Hey there, Weiss," he greeted back, "I like your new dress."

She looked down at her clothes and smiled, "Thank you, the last one got torn by… well, you know, you were there…" She gave a sincere chuckle, "It's actually, why I'm here."

"Well," began the knight and crossed his arms over his chest, "I do consider myself quite handy with a needle and thread."

"It's not that you dolt!"

Weiss gave him a playful shove and laughed sincerely. When she calmed down the initial tension seemed to have dissipated. She took a deep breath and finally said what was on her mind.

"I wanted to thank you. I wouldn't be here right now, were it not for you and your semblance, … You saved me."

"You're welcome," he replied, there was no sarcasm in the tone of his voice or flirtatious exaggeration, "It means a lot hearing those words."

There were moments where he thought he had ruined any chance at anything resembling a friendship with the heiress. With his constant attempts at courting he was surprised she hadn't gotten a restraining order. This was nice.

They both shared a smile.

"There's another thing…"

She broke eye contact again and Jaune wondered what else she wanted to say.

She took a step closer and brought her hands slowly to his cheeks.

A half lidded gaze met his.

She gently pulled his face closer and connected their lips in a kiss.

When she broke it, though, she couldn't help but feel a tang of disappointment, "You… didn't kiss me back?"

She let go of his cheeks and quickly took a small step back to create some space.

His face had remained neutral throughout the intimate contact. A few months ago he'd have given anything for something like that to happen but things changed.

He had to be honest with her, she deserved that much.

"Weiss… do you… actually, like me? I mean more than a friend or is this just something you thought I'd like?"

He could see it in her eyes, she hadn't thought this through and a sense of guilt washed over her, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," his hand found her cheek and turned her gaze back to him. "I had a crush on you back at Beacon, but it was just that, a schoolyard crush. We didn't let it develop and it stayed what it was," he shrugged, "I guess I outgrew it."

She was relieved, "Yeah… It's just, I didn't think words could express the extent of my gratitude. I thought it would be better if I showed you," she admitted.

"I meant what I said, and a regular 'thank you' is more than enough."

A smirk formed on the heiress' lips, "I can't believe how much you've matured. I almost regret not taking you up any of those dates." She took another look at the rest of him, "And you're not as scraggly as you were when we first met."

"Thanks, and you're not as... cold?"

She shook her head at the comment, "You have got to stop hanging out with Yang, that was horrible."

It seemed things were back to normal.

"I'm sure there's a girl out there that you'll make incredibly happy one day," she put a hand on his shoulder before leaving. "Just stay clear of the bad puns and you'll be golden," she added and disappeared around the corner.

He continued down the hall in the opposite direction of the heiress. When he reached the other end he found a trail of rose petals. It didn't take a combat tactician to figure out who had left them there. He followed the trail as it wound its way through the hallways of the dormitory and finally ended at the screen panels that lead to the huge wooden terrace.

Sliding it open he spotted the girl in red and black. She was leaning on the railing with the sunset right in front of her but the beauty of the sight seemed lost on her.

He gathered his nerves and stepped outside.

She didn't do anything to acknowledge his presence. He joined her in the scene taking a spot right next to her.

"Hey..."

"...Hey."

…

Strange, usually he found it so easy to talk to Ruby. There were never awkward silences, what gives?

"So… you all packed up for Atlas?"

"Yeah…"

This was going nowhere. He was having about as much luck with this conversation as the heiress had with him. He opened his mouth to speak again but she beat him to it.

"I hope you and Weiss are happy."

At least that answered a few of his the question.

"You saw us?"

"Well… you've been pinning for her since your second day at Beacon… The two of you will make a great couple."

She pushed herself from the railing and turned towards the knight. Ruby shot him with the brightest smile he'd ever seen.

But it was fake.

He could tell.

She was hurt because of him and it made him feel rotten inside.

He had to fix this.

"Weiss kissed me but that's it."

The reaper's smile was replaced with a confused look.

"She was just grateful for me saving her. I told her I wasn't interested and she admitted it was mutual."

Ruby listened to his words with wide eyes.

"I thought… I thought you liked her. I mean at Beacon-"

"It was a crush, I realised that some time ago… I've moved on. It's better this way. Weiss deserves better."

"Don't sell yourself short, vomit boy, she'll have a hard time finding someone better than you."

Glancing to his right he could see the slight blush caress her cheeks and her smile was once again genuine.

It was beautiful, her best feature.

"So… who's your new crush?"

Jaune would've choked if he was eating, thankfully he wasn't.

"That's blunt."

"Well I haven't seen you serenading any of the girls on our journey. You haven't been as obvious as you were with Weiss so it's a bit of a mystery," she narrowed her eyes at him, "Nora told she had a suspect but she wouldn't tell me who."

"Ruby, I…"

He had faced ursae one on one, went after a geist unarmed and single handedly held back the charge of the ancient Nuckelavee. How was it that a little girl wanting him to tell her a secret was scarier than all of those things combined. He wanted to just shrug it off as a joke or something but it was Pyrrha's words that came to his mind and gave him the shove he needed.

He could tell her the truth.

"Ruby… there's a lot of ways for someone to show that they care about you."

He pushed himself of the railing and turned to face her.

"It doesn't have to be some grand gesture… They can make you pancakes, every day, for breakfast and for dinner, just to see that smile on your face," he told her thinking about Ren and Nora.

He took a step closer and she kept her silver eyes locked with his blue.

"Or, they can follow you… halfway across the world. Just to make sure you're safe."

He raised his gloved hand to caress her cheek. She leaned into his touch.

"I care about you a lot," he admitted.

"I know that a relationship isn't exactly an option for us right now, not with the fate of Remnant hanging in the balance. But when all this is over, I don't want us to be just friends. Because I want a chance at being something more."

She jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him into a hug and he wrapped his own arms around the girl and rested his chin atop her head.

The sun had completely set by the time they separated and the socially awkward pair shared a final smile.

"So do I take that as a yes?" asked the knight.

"Mmm, nope."

Well that didn't go as expected.

"I just poured my heart out for you, how is that a nope?"

Her hands went behind her back and she gave him an innocent smile before replying, "I don't think I can wait that long."

The knight rolled his eyes, of course, she was teasing him, "Fine, Atlas, you, me, dinner, dancing, as soon as we get 2 hours to ourselves, deal?"

She winked at him, "It's a date."

 **END**


End file.
